At present, the assembly of electronic boards to allow children as young as nine years old to achieve the electric control of modular construction kits, scale models, and construction models are available in the market for children's use and play. Most construction kits, like LEGO, MECCANO, and other technical kits, are intended to teach children while playing or studying to better understand the mechanisms of machines, such as erection cranes, elevators, railroad crossing safety guards, small robots, trucks and cars, and the like. These machines are based on modular plastic elements with transmission and movement transformation mechanisms, such as a gear, cogwheel belt, pulley, etc., intended for their machine animations. Most of these construction kits may have their mechanisms animated, either manually or with small electric motors.
The benefit for a child is to construct a construction model or a scale model, which enables the child to reproduce, on a smaller scale, an authentic design of what exists in real life, including actual shapes and movements. At the present time, in order to animate a model, the child can use the following three means of animation.
The simplest means of animation is where the child animates manually the mobile mechanical elements of the model to give it a semblance of realism.
In the second means of animation, which gives more realism to the movement of the mechanical elements of the model, the child may install a small electric motor, which the child controls through push buttons.
In the third means of animation, which appears to be more high tech or high performance, the child may use a microcomputer with a software disc to control the small electric motors which will operate the mechanical movements of the model according to the three axes of movement, being X, Y, and Z.
The main problem with the aforementioned children's construction kits is that the manual operation and/or the operation by a small electric motor controlled by push buttons of the model is at a most basic level and usually is of limited interest to the child and is without much educational value to the child after a few times of play. On the other extreme, the use of a computer is financially disproportionate and far too complex and has limited educational value to the child who operates a small electric motor of the construction kit for play. The play aspect of a child using a software disc will always tend to make the child believe that it is easy with a computer to conceive an electromechanical automation, but this is incorrect.
It would be preferable that a child have the possibility of acquiring a hands-on know-how, a general knowledge, and a high performance material means (such as logic control modules) that is simple to use and less costly to buy for the child. It would be desirable to allow the child to conceive and learn progressively the systems of electromechanical control by establishing logical algorithms of the motorizations. Thus, the child may construct several independent electrical control systems and be interactive with them, and this can be done more easily than with computers, at least, for rather simple machine design achievements by the child. It would be highly desirable to provide a child's modular construction kit having electrical controls which utilize current electronic technology, thus making it possible to remedy the aforementioned drawbacks.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a modular construction kit having electrical modular controls for controlling and/or building scale models and construction models, and for the use of breadboarding animation visuals for the play and learning skills of the children involved.
Another object of the present invention is to provide for the utilization of current electronic technology for adaptation to a child's modular construction kit having electronic modular controls.
Another object of the present invention is to provide for the use of logic modules that are designed for processing information data from sensors which are electromechanical and optoelectronic in use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide for the use of analog modules that are designed for processing analog physical parameters, such as the intensity of a light source and the levels of temperature, pressure, liquids, potentiometers, etc.
Other objects of the present invention are to provide electronic modular control boards which are used for the sensing of power (presence or absence), sensor switches, and indicator lights for simulation and the adjustment of a control; combinational and sequential logic; time-filling devices; output relay interfaces for controlling motors, lamps, pumps, etc.; monostable oscillators to transform a continuous signal into movement; and digital control counters to count objects or to control movements of a mobile model.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a modular construction kit for a child to acquire a hands-on know-how and general knowledge by using high-performance logic control modules that are simple to use and learn from.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a modular construction kit having modular control boards that are reliable and permanently reusable for various applications.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a modular construction kit having modular control boards that have minimal breakdown risk and do not require any maintenance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a modular construction kit having modular control boards which can be modified at all times to change an electric control by adding or withdrawing control boards.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a modular construction kit having modular control boards that can be used to form a plurality of different subassemblies of electric controls and which can be used to make simple and/or complex electric controls for mechanical movements.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a modular construction kit having modular control boards which can be interactive with other types of construction kits, scale models, construction models, and the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a modular construction kit having a self-training utilization guide explaining the procedures of implementation of the modules with data sheets proposing diagram suggestions of electric controls which will help the child in the selection of modules to automate the mobile elements of the model.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a modular construction kit capable of providing the controls for a variety of different scale models, construction models, and animation visuals of objects like a drawbridge, a railroad crossing guard, an automobile, a truck, a small robot, an elevator, an erection crane, and the like.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a modular construction kit capable of being upgraded to 30 different modules that are intended for the optimization of complex control circuits which increase the types of models that are constructed and controlled.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a modular construction kit having electronic controls which can be mass produced in an automated and economical manner and are relatively inexpensive.